Selena Gomez says she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Selena Gomez has spoken out about her mental health, saying that she recently discovered that she has bipolar disorder.

The singer spoke about her diagnosis while talking to fellow ex-Disney star Miley Cyrus on Instagram Live as part of Cyrus' 'Bright Minded: Live' series.

During the conversation she said that the thing that has helped her most with her mental health is learning more about her condition, as the more she knows the less scared she feels.

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"Recently, I went to one of the best mental hospitals... McLean Hospital and I discussed that, after years of going through a lot of different things, I realised that I was bipolar and so, when I go to know more information, it actually helps me," Gomez said. "It doesn't scare me once I know it and I think people get scared of that."

She went on to say that in her native Texas it is "not known to talk about your mental health" because young people want to be seen as being "cool", but that having conversations is what will help the most.

"When I finally said what I was gonna say, I wanted to know everything about it and it took the fear away," Gomez explained.

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"When I was younger, I was scared of thunderstorms and my mom bought me all these different books on thunderstorms, so she's like, 'The more that you educate yourself on this, the more that you're not gonna be afraid', and it completely worked and that's kind of something that helps me big time."

Gomez, who has previously spoken out about experiencing depression, said that she is no longer afraid of talking and learning about her mental health, saying: "When I have more information, it actually helps me, it doesn't scare me once I know it."

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that affects your moods, often causing swings between depression and feeling very high and energetic. More information can be found on the NHS website.